Wounded but dangerous

FOR A number of reasons, Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid is not overly confident going into their feature Jamaica Premier League (JPL) round two game against Portmore United at Sabina Park at 5:30 p.m.

Though Portmore were outplayed during a 2-0 loss to Mount Pleasant in the opening round of matches last Sunday, Speid is expecting the Rodolph Austin-coached team to make improvements.

He also pointed out that Portmore were the only team to beat them twice last season, and that their gruelling midweek Concacaf Champions Cup match against Real Hope of Haiti, also presents another challenge for his team.

“Portmore lost their first match to Mount Pleasant. That is not an indication of anything.

“Portmore will go back and look at what they did wrong. So they will be a better team. They now have one game under their belt and last year they did the double on us. So we are very wary of Portmore,” he said.

He noted that their first game in last season’s JPL, they lost, and this was right after a midweek Champions Cup match. However, he said they have assessed the situation and will make adjustments.

“Last year when we played our first match after a (Champions Cup) match in the week, we lost. So it is something we are looking at to not make the same mistake again.

“Usually when you play so many games, it’s a challenge. And after such a hard match in the week, we have to be careful how we periodise this one and that is what we are doing,” he continued.

Nevertheless, they will go into the game with a positive attitude.

“Cavalier don’t usually lose a lot of games. We always try to be positive. So we will put our best foot forward and see what happens,” said Speid.

Slow start

Austin lamented his team’s slow start against Mount Pleasant, while noting that Portmore must improve as an attacking unit.

“We have to really work on how we start games. We have to do better. Whatever happened happened, we have to move on from that. We just have to do better from here on,” he said.

“But Portmore United play to win games. So we need to do some work in the final area.”

Cavalier will be playing the first game of their JPL title defence, while Portmore will be hunting for their first points.

In the opening game of the double-header at 2 pm, Molynes United kick off their season against a Vere United team coming off a defeat.

Molynes United traditionally pose problems for the big teams in the league, and if they should play true to form, they will gives Vere United some troubles.

However, Vere, who have been complaining of administrative issues with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) regarding transfer of some players, will want to get some points under their belt after a less-than-convincing start.

At Ferdie Neita Park, newly promoted Racing United, who were impressive despite losing 1-0 to Waterhouse in their debut on Monday, take on St Catherine rivals Dunbeholden in a Portmore derby at 3:30 pm.

Meanwhile, the feature matchup between Mount Pleasant and Waterhouse at Drax Hall has been postponed due to Mount Pleasant’s involvement in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup this week.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Today’s Games

Racing United vs Dunbeholden at Ferdie Neita Park (4 pm)

Molynes United vs Vere United at Sabina Park (3 pm)

Cavalier SC vs Portmore United at Sabina Park (5:30 pm)

Humble Lion FC vs Tivoli Gardens FC at Effortville Community Centre (3:30 pm)